"The course of the entire battle evolves gratifyingly according to plan."
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Battlefield Location: Lithuania, 1941 Conditions: Clear Time of Day: Evening
Soviet Order of Battle German Order of Battle |
Morale All German units are Veteran. All Russian units are Rookie.
Terrain and Setup Use the map provided to guide the setup of the map. The Germans are staging out of a scattered area of Forest terrain, mingled randomly with Clear terrain. The Soviets are approaching the German line in a Clear field bordering Swamp terrain. The Soviet player may set his units up anywhere on that clear terrain no closer than 15 MU to the edge of the German woodline. The German player may set up anywhere behind that line. Unit placement should alternate until the German player has run out of units, at which point the Soviet player may place as he sees fit. He is attacking across an open field, after all. The German player may place any of his tanks he wishes in hull-down positions.
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The Soviet Union has just suffered one of the most appalling failures of defensive strategy and military intelligence in the history of the world. Despite clear warnings from multiple reliable sources, the German attack on June 22 broke across the Soviet border with inhuman ferocity and near-absolute success. The Russian front has all but collapsed, and Colonel General Heinz Guderian's armored spearheads are surging north and east, slicing terrified Soviet units into isolated pockets as they go. Soviet confusion is absolute, and reports are flashing to Moscow of a "great victory" even as some German units penetrate more than a hundred kilometers into the Soviet rear on the second night of battle.
Near dusk on June 23, the forward echelon of General Georg-Hans Reinhardt's XLI Panzer Corps has met nearly 300 tanks of the fledgling Red Army mechanized corps. Just outside the village of Raseinyai, a massive frontal attack by the inexperienced Soviet tankers is surging against a heavily outnumbered force of German veterans. Strength of numbers meets confident skill in a microcosm of the situation up and down the entire front. The prize for the Germans is an open path to the bridges of the Dvina river, nearly 200 miles inside Russia.
This scenario is Medium Mission Priority for both sides.
The German player may succeed in one of two ways. He may elect to wipe out the Soviet force (if the number of Soviet units on the map drops to four or less, the German player will win) or he may attempt to bully past their forward echelon and hit their rear in force (at least five german units must be moved safely off the Soviet edge of the map).
The Soviet player's only consideration is to destroy the Germans, bearing in mind that too many casualties on his own side will be his end. If the Germans are reduced to two units or less, the Soviets will win the engagement.
Increased Set-Up Time
In this variation, the Soviets have delayed their counterattack by an hour, allowing both sides the chance to enhance their forces.
German Reinforcements
Soviet Reinforcements
Nightfall
Starting at the beginning of Turn 10, apply darkness modifiers to the entire battlefield.
Easier Bookkeeping
The Soviet Player in particular may begin to feel a bit burdened by the massive number of units on the board. If this is the case, both players should feel free to reduce their forces in a mutually acceptable fashion, keeping the number of Soviet units near but just under a 2:1 ratio to the Germans.
It seemed the right time for a massive, mega-brutal slugfest between two large mechanized forces, didn't it?
This scenario is based on a genuine historical incident. The German Panzer spearheads of Army Group North did encounter more than 300 Soviet tanks near Raseinyai, Lithuania on June 23-24, 1941. After hours of badly coordinated frontal attacks, the Soviets were flanked by their more experienced opponents and pushed into a swamp. By the time they withdrew, they had lost at least 185 tanks. German casualties were fractional in comparison.
Against a dug-in force of veteran units, the Soviet player is up against a rock and doesn't even have the benefit of a hard place to retreat to. Audacity and a strong stomach for casualties are the only hope he has of stemming the German advance.
